The statistics for juvenile arthritis (JA) are staggering: An estimated 300,000 children in the United States—that’s 1 in 250 kids—are affected by some form of the disease. According to the Arthritis Foundation, the disease takes a unique physical and emotional toll on kids, often resulting in debilitating pain and feelings of loneliness or depression. Not a happy illness at all, yet many children are resilient, thank goodness.

Each August we commemorate National Immunization Awareness Month to highlight the importance of vaccination for people of all ages.
 
An early vaccine that made a huge difference for people throughout the world was the polio vaccine. Developed by the American virologist and researcher, Jonas Salk, the vaccine was first available in the United States in 1955.
 
Today, few people in developed countries get paralytic polio, thanks to the polio vaccine. Yet the disturbing news, according to the Mayo Clinic, is that people who had polio at a young age could get post-polio syndrome. Post-polio syndrome, or PPS, can include progressive muscle and joint weakness and pain.